This weekend’s National Football League playoffs brought into sharp focus the need for a playoff in college football.
The greatest games in sport, some would argue, are the David and Goliath matchups. Games that look so lopsided on paper that many scoff at the game even being played. Then the game is played, and the underdog shocks everyone.
Sure, we see some of that in college football, but with a notable difference.
When the Arizona Cardinals, who were basically left for dead coming into the playoffs after some embarrassing performances late in the season, stepped up and defeated a heavily favored Atlanta Falcons team in the first round of the NFL playoffs, it wasn’t the end of the road or the story.
The momentum rolled on through another week, culminating in a big win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night.
The improbable journey will now roll on to the NFC Championship game in Phoenix this weekend, where the Cardinals might actually even be favored over the Philadelphia Eagles, who are a great comeback story in their own right.
All the Eagles did was go on the road in round one and defeat the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings, followed up Sunday with a victory over the top-seeded, defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
Stories like these (again, among the most compelling narratives in sport) are not possible in the BCS system and I think that is the system’s greatest flaw. Teams like Utah of this year and Boise State in recent memory get one shot at the underdog victory and that’s it. A win by one of these mid-major teams is compelling stuff, granted, but it always ends there.
Just imagine if dispersed among the NFL games this weekend we had the continuation of the college season with Utah against Florida and USC against Texas, or some combination thereof. That underdog story would get the chance to gain speed and capture the attention of the national sports landscape even more, instead of screeching to a halt right when everyone was taking notice.
Of course, the underlying argument to this whole bowls-versus-playoffs deal is based on how you feel about what truly makes a champion: a season-long body of work, or a season-long evolution that culminates in a streak of great team football?
I would argue the latter, because what a team is at the end of a season is often how it is judged in the scope of history.
Was the Oregon team that lost to Boise State or even California the same Oregon team that romped through the Beavers and Cowboys? Were those early-season performances a true indication of how good the Ducks could be? I think not.
We will inevitably look back on this Oregon team based on what they accomplished in the end, not the beginning. It is my belief that a team shouldn’t be punished for growing pains, but rewarded for the resulting growth.
But there is hope on the horizon. There was a quick ripple through the sports-news landscape last fall about ESPN acquiring the BCS rights starting in 2011, taking over for Fox, which currently shows all but the Rose Bowl. It wasn’t a major story, just a 24-hour news cycle when the successful bid was confirmed, then nothing.
To me it was writing on the wall for the BCS as we now know it. One prevalent excuse for the BCS’ inability to change has been the TV contracts. Now, with all of the BCS games’ broadcast rights owned by one network, (ABC/ESPN), I think change is possible.
We all know how much of ESPN’s airtime consists of people lobbying for a playoff right now, and can you think of a better way to truly live up to the slogan “The Worldwide Leader In Sports” than to lead the movement towards a playoff system in college football? And what better way to roll out your network coverage in 2011 than a completely revamped system? I mean, come on, can you imagine the hype?
So take heart, those who yearn for a playoff. Even President-elect Barack Obama has consistently spoken out for a playoff system, and just as our country has only eight more days until change comes to Washington D.C., I think college football fans have just two more seasons until change comes to the bowl system.
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Exciting NFL playoffs show need for college football playoff
Daily Emerald
January 11, 2009
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